TWI460584B - Server, host and method for reading base image through storage area network - Google Patents

Description

Providing a server, a host, and a method for reading a base image by using a storage area network

A server, a host end, and a method for providing a read base image, in particular, a server, a host end, and a method thereof for providing a virtual machine to read a base image by using a storage area network.

Since users who do the same work usually use the same operating environment, in order to facilitate the convenience of management and avoid the need to install operating systems and applications for each user individually, most of them use virtual machines (Virtual Machine, VM). The solution, in which the administrator will first install an initial operating environment, and the installed operating environment as the base image of the virtual machine used by each user (Base Image), so that the virtual machine is mounted according to the basis The differential disk created by the image. In this way, all virtual machines share the operating system and application in the base image, and then, when the virtual machine is running, the generated difference data is stored in the differential disk mounted on the virtual machine, which indicates the difference. Disk access will be very frequent.

At present, the common system mostly sets the shared base image and the differential disk independently accessed by the virtual machine on the remote storage server. The virtual machine is stored in the base image and the differential disk set in the storage server. Taking data, so that all virtual machines are accessing the load on the storage server when accessing data, which is quite high for the storage server, resulting in low access performance and low access efficiency. The storage server also needs a large amount of storage space to store a plurality of differential disks. In addition, the host side of the virtual machine is continuously transmitted and received through the network, and the network resources are consumed. Therefore, there are currently some systems that will The base image and the differential disk are all set on the same host. Although the setting method can reduce the consumption of network resources, the access load is still concentrated on the host, the access performance cannot be improved, and the base image is often unable to be Share.

In summary, it can be seen that in the prior art, there has been a long-standing problem that the base image and the differential disk are disposed in the same device, which tends to cause low access performance. Therefore, it is necessary to propose an improved technical means to solve this problem.

In view of the prior art, there is a problem that the base image and the differential disk are disposed on the same device, which tends to cause low access performance. The present invention discloses a storage base network (SAN) providing a read base image (Base Image). The server, the host end, and the method, wherein: the storage area network provides a server for reading a basic image, and at least includes: a storage medium for storing a virtual virtual disk (Parent Virtual Hard Disk, Parent) The VHD file contains the target program in the native virtual disk file. The target module is used to provide the host to mount the storage medium to the remote disk through the storage area network. The virtual virtual disk (VM) is used to create a differential virtual disk (Different VHD) file, and the virtual machine (VM) executed on the host side executes the target program through the corresponding difference virtual disk file. When the target program is transferred to the host.

The host side of the storage area network for providing a read base image includes at least an initiator, which is configured to mount a storage medium of the storage server as a remote disk through the storage area network. The storage medium stores the original virtual disk file. The native virtual disk file contains the target program and is used to download the target program. The local disk is used to store the difference virtual disk file. The difference virtual disk is native. The virtual disk file is created by the base image; the virtual machine processing module is configured to execute the virtual machine corresponding to each of the different virtual disk files, so that the virtual machine executes the target program, and the virtual machine reads the target program. When the data is read, the related data is read from the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine, and when the difference data generated by the target program is stored, the difference data is stored in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine.

The method for storing a basic image is provided by the storage area network, and the method includes the following steps: the host side mounts the storage server as a remote disk through the storage area network; and sets the host to be established in the remote disk. The original virtual disk file; the service host mirrors the original virtual disk file, and creates a difference virtual disk file in the local disk of the service host; the service host executes the virtual machine corresponding to the difference virtual disk file; the virtual machine hangs The virtual disk file corresponding to the difference; the virtual machine executes the target program in the original virtual disk file through the corresponding difference virtual disk file; when the virtual machine reads the related data of the target program, the service host is connected with the virtual machine Corresponding difference virtual disk file reads related data; when the target program accesses the difference data generated, the service host accesses the difference data in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine.

The system and method disclosed in the present invention are as above, and the difference from the prior art is that the host end of the present invention establishes a native virtual disk file in the storage server through the storage area network, and mirrors the image based on the native virtual disk file. The difference virtual disk file is created in the local disk. When the virtual machine on the host side mounts the difference virtual disk file, the virtual machine executes the target program, and the service host reads the original virtual disk file through the storage area network. The original data in the source, and access to the difference data generated by the target program in the difference virtual disk file of the local disk, thereby solving the prior art The problem is that it can achieve the technical effect of increasing the access performance of the storage server and increasing the number of virtual machines supported by the storage server.

The features and embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings and embodiments, which are sufficient to enable those skilled in the art to fully understand the technical means to which the present invention solves the technical problems, and The achievable effects of the present invention.

The invention can set the parent virtual disk (Parent Virtual Hard Disk, Parent VHD) file as a base image to the storage server, and set the difference virtual disk (Different VHD) file to the host end (Host ), the virtual machine (Virtual Machine) executing in the host side shares the same basic image, and the difference data generated by the virtual machine during operation is stored in the differential virtual disk file, which can reduce the storage of the data stored in the server. Take the (I/O) load.

The storage server may further include a cache cache, and the host side may also include a host cache. Through the server cache and/or the host cache, the speed of the host side accessing the base image may be improved, and the host cache is cached. It can also reduce the network traffic of the host side accessing the base image.

The operation of the system of the present invention will be described first. The system of the present invention includes at least one storage server and one or more host terminals. Among them, it is particularly worth mentioning that, in the present invention, the number of host terminals is usually determined by the user of the system of the present invention, and the more users tend to have more host terminals 200, while the storage server 100 The number is usually determined according to the number of the host end 200. When all the host terminals 200 are in normal operation, if the access performance or the network load of each storage server 100 reaches a certain ratio, then the host side needs to be added. , usually also need to increase The server 100 is stored so that the access performance or network load of the storage server 100 is not reduced, thereby affecting the data access performance of each host.

Please refer to FIG. 1 for a schematic diagram of a server component for providing a read base image in a storage area network, and the storage server 100 further includes a storage medium 110, a target module 130, and Additional servo cache 150.

The storage medium 110 is responsible for storing the native virtual disk file 111. The storage medium 110 is generally a block device capable of random accessing a fixed-size chunk of data, for example, a hard disk, a compact disc, or the like, but the present invention is not particularly limited.

The native virtual disk file 111 stored by the storage medium 110 is a read only file in the present invention. The native virtual disk file 111 usually includes the target program installed by the host terminal 200. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In some embodiments, the original virtual disk file stored in the storage medium 110 may not be installed. Program. The target program proposed by the present invention includes a program that can be run in a virtual machine such as an operating system or an application software, but the present invention is not limited to the above.

The target module 130 is connected to the storage server 100 through the storage area network (SAN), and is configured to provide the host 200 to mount the storage medium 110, so that the storage medium 110 becomes the host 200. Remote disk.

The target module 130 is also responsible for reading the target program included in the native virtual disk file 111 from the storage medium 110 and transferring the target program to the host terminal 200, so that the virtual machine running in the host terminal 200 can execute the target program. In particular, if the storage medium 110 is a block device, the target program may be stored in one or more storage blocks, and the target module 130 may read the target program. Each storage block of the formula is transmitted to the host end 200, respectively.

The servo cache 150 is a storage component that can be attached to the storage server 100, and is generally a storage device that reads faster than the storage medium 110, such as a random access memory (RAM), a flash memory. (Flash), etc., but the servo cache 150 is not limited to this.

The servo cache 150 is responsible for storing the target program read by the target module 130 from the storage medium 110, so that the target module 130 can determine whether the servo cache 150 is needed when the target program needs to be read again in the storage medium 110. The target program is stored. If the target program is stored in the server cache 150, the target program is read by the server cache 150. If the target program is not stored in the server cache 150, the target module 130 is still read by the storage medium 110. The target program is fetched, and after reading the target program, the read target program is stored in the servo cache 150.

In addition, if the storage medium 110 is a block device, the complete target program may not be stored in the server cache 150, that is, the storage cache 150 may not store all the storage blocks including the target program, but may only Store some of the storage blocks containing the target program. In this manner, when the target module 130 needs to read the target program again, it first determines whether the storage block containing the target program is stored in the server cache 150, and if the server cache 150 stores one or more storages containing the target program. In the block, the target module 130 reads the storage blocks of the target program stored in the servo cache 150 from the servo cache 150, and reads them from the storage medium 110 and does not store them in the server cache 150. The other storage blocks of the target program are stored, and the storage blocks read by the storage medium 110 are stored in the servo cache 150, and all the storage blocks including the target program are respectively transmitted to the host terminal 200.

Please refer to "Figure 2" for the purpose of providing storage for the storage area network. As shown in the internal schematic diagram of the host image of the base image, the host terminal 200 further includes an initiator 210, a local disk 230, a virtual machine processing module 250, and an attachable host cache 270.

The initiating module 210 is responsible for connecting to the storage server 100 through the storage area network, and mounting the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 so that the storage medium 110 becomes the remote disk of the host end 200. The initiating module 210 is also responsible for the storage server 100 downloading the target program in the native virtual disk file 111 stored in the storage medium 110.

The local disk 230 is responsible for storing the difference virtual disk file 231. The local disk 230 is similar to the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100, and is usually also a block device, but the local disk 230 is not limited thereto.

The difference virtual disk file 231 stored by the local disk 230 is established based on the native virtual disk file 111, and the local disk 230 of each host terminal 200 can store one or more differential virtual disk files 231. .

It is worth mentioning that since the native virtual disk file 111 is read-only, the data generated after the writing, adding, modifying, deleting, etc. of the content in the original virtual disk file 111 will be It is stored in the difference virtual disk file 231 (the generated data is the "difference data" mentioned in the present invention). If the local disk 230 is a block device, the difference virtual disk file 231 stores the storage block in the original virtual disk file 111, that is, the storage block containing the difference data is stored. Go to the difference virtual disk file 231.

The virtual machine processing module 250 generally includes a processor and a memory, but the virtual machine processing module 250 is not limited thereto.

The virtual machine processing module 250 is responsible for executing the virtual machine 251. The virtual machine processing module 250 of each host end 200 can execute one or more virtual machines, but The invention is not particularly limited. In some embodiments, the virtual machine 251 executed by the virtual machine processing module 250 has a one-to-one correspondence with the difference virtual disk file 231 stored in the local disk 230.

When the virtual machine processing module 250 executes the virtual machine 251, the virtual machine 251 mounts the corresponding differential virtual disk file 231, and then executes the target program in the differential virtual disk file 231. When the virtual machine 251 executes the target program, the virtual machine 251 or the executed target program may need to read related files of the target program, dynamic link files, data files, and the like (but the invention is not limited thereto). At this time, if the related data of the target program is the original data in the original virtual disk file 111, and the content of the related data does not change due to the writing operation, such as a profile, a dynamic link file, etc., the virtual machine processes The module 250 reads the related data of the target program through the initiating module 210 to the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100, and changes the related data of the target program by adding, modifying, deleting, etc. The difference data, such as the profile, the data file, etc., indicates that the relevant data for the change is stored in the difference virtual disk file 231 corresponding to the executed virtual machine 251, and therefore, the virtual machine processing module 250 is The related data of the target program is read in the difference virtual disk file 231 corresponding to the executed virtual machine 251. In addition, when the virtual machine 251 executes the target program, the virtual machine 251 or the executed target program may also need to perform a write operation to generate difference data, such as temporary archiving, cache, etc., and the virtual machine processing module 250 will be The generated difference data is stored in the difference virtual disk file 231 corresponding to the executed virtual machine 251.

In addition, since the virtual machine is the same as the general computer, the target program such as the operating system and the application program needs to be installed to operate. Therefore, the virtual machine processing module 250 can provide the virtual machine 251 installation operating system and the application program. Standard program.

The virtual machine processing module 250 can generate a temporary virtual disk file (not shown) without any data on the local disk 230 and execute the virtual machine. After the virtual machine is executed, the temporary virtual disk file generated by the virtual machine processing module 250 is mounted as a disk drive in the virtual machine, and the disk drive is formatted. When the virtual machine installs the target program, the virtual machine processing module 250 stores the target program of the virtual machine installation into the generated temporary virtual disk file, and installs the virtual machine after the virtual machine completes the installation of the target program. An agent is created in the operating system (that is, the temporary virtual disk file), and then the virtual machine processing module 250 ends executing the virtual machine or the virtual machine unmounting the temporary generated by the virtual machine processing module 250. In the virtual disk file, the virtual machine processing module 250 copies the virtual disk file containing the target program and the agent to the remote disk of the host 200, that is, to the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100. Thus, the temporary virtual disk file copied by the virtual machine processing module 250 to the remote disk of the host terminal 200 is the native virtual disk file 111 proposed by the present invention.

In a practical manner, the virtual machine processing module 250 provides the virtual machine installation target program to establish the native virtual disk file 111. The virtual machine processing module 250 can also directly set the host startup module 210. The native virtual disk file 111 is generated on the remote disk of the host terminal 200 (the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100), and then the virtual machine processing module 250 executes the virtual machine in the same manner as described above, and is in the virtual machine. When the target program is installed, the target program of the virtual machine installation is stored in the generated native virtual disk file 111, and after the virtual machine completes the installation of the target program, the operating system installed on the virtual machine (that is, the native virtual magnetic file) Create an agent in the file 111), so, the native virtual disk file 111 will include the target program and the agent.

After the virtual machine processing module 250 establishes the native virtual disk file 111, the difference virtual disk file 231 can be created in the local disk 230 according to the native virtual disk file 111, and the created differential virtual disk file 231 can be mounted. In order to write the relevant data of the target program into the difference virtual disk file 231. Thus, when the virtual machine processing module 250 executes a new virtual machine corresponding to the created differential virtual disk file 231, the new virtual machine first executes the agent in the native virtual disk file 111, and the agent is virtualized. After the machine is executed, the initial environment of the new virtual machine is set according to the relevant information in the difference virtual disk file 231, so that the target program such as the operating system and the application of the new virtual machine can operate normally.

The host cache 270 is a storage component that can be attached to the host 200, such as a flash memory, a random access memory, etc., but the host cache 270 is not limited thereto. In general, the access speed of the host cache 270 is superior to that of the local disk 230, but the present invention is not particularly limited.

The host cache 270 is responsible for storing the target program downloaded by the initiating module 210 to the storage server 100, so that the initiating module 210 can first determine whether the host cache 270 is stored when the target program is downloaded to the storage server 100 again. The target program, if the target cache is stored in the host cache 270, the originating module 210 will read the target program from the host cache 270. If the target cache is not stored in the host cache 270, the launch module 210 will be stored. The target program is downloaded from the server 100, and after downloading the target program, the downloaded target program is stored in the host cache 270.

In addition, if the storage medium 110 and the local disk 230 of the storage server 100 are both block devices, the host cache 270 may not store the complete target program, that is, the host cache 270 may not store the target. All storage areas of the program Block, but may only store some of the storage blocks containing the target program. In this way, when the target module needs to read the target program again, it first determines whether the storage block containing the target program is stored in the host cache 270, and if the host cache 270 stores one or more storages containing the target program. In the block, the initiating module 210 reads the storage blocks of the target program included in the host cache 270 from the host cache 270, and downloads by the storage server 100 is not stored in the host cache. The other storage blocks of the target program in 270 are stored in the host cache 270.

Next, an operational system and method of the present invention will be described with reference to an embodiment. Referring to FIG. 3A, a flowchart of a method for providing a read base image by a storage area network is provided. It is assumed that in the present embodiment, a storage server 100 and at least one host terminal 200 are included, wherein both the storage server 100 and the host terminal 200 support the present invention. In addition, when the number of the host terminals 200 is excessive, two or more storage servers 100 may be included in the present invention.

If the native virtual disk file 111, which can be used as the base image, is not stored in the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100, the administrator needs to first create a native virtual disk file 111 that can be used as the base image. Thus, the manager needs to operate one of the host terminals 200 to establish a native virtual disk file 111 that can be used as a base image, wherein the administrator operates to create a native virtual disk file 111 that can be used as a base image. The host side 200 is referred to as a "setting host" in the present invention.

First, the initiating module 210 in the setting host can mount the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 through the storage area network as the remote disk of the setting host (step 310), and then set the virtual machine processing module 250 of the host. A native virtual disk file 111 that can be used as a base image can be created in the remote disk (step 320).

In this embodiment, it is assumed that the virtual machine processing module 250 of the host can be set. As shown in the flow of "FIG. 3B", a temporary virtual disk file is generated on the local disk 230 of the setting host (step 321a), and the virtual machine is executed (step 322).

After the virtual machine is executed by the virtual machine processing module 250, the virtual machine can mount the temporary virtual disk file on the local disk 230 (step 323a). After that, the administrator can install the target program such as the operating system and the application in the virtual machine by setting the host.

When the virtual machine installs the target program (step 325), the virtual machine processing module 250 of the set host can store the target program installed by the virtual machine into the temporary virtual disk file on the local disk 230 (step 326a), and After the virtual machine completes the installation of the target program, an agent is created in the temporary virtual disk file of the storage target program (step 327a). Finally, when the virtual machine is terminated by the virtual machine processing module 250, or the virtual machine unloads the virtual disk file (step 328a), the virtual machine processing module 250 can include the temporary virtual disk file containing the target program and the agent. The local disk 230 of the setting host is copied to the remote disk of the setting host to become the native virtual disk file (step 329). Thus, the virtual machine processing module 250 completes the creation of the native virtual disk file.

In fact, in this embodiment, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the setting host may also directly set the remote disk of the host by setting the initiator module 210 of the host as shown in the flow of "3C". After the native virtual disk file 111 is generated on the storage medium 110) of the storage server 100 (step 321b), the virtual machine is executed (step 322). The virtual machine mounts the native virtual disk file on the remote disk after execution (step 323b).

After that, the administrator can install the target program on the virtual machine by setting the host. Set the host's virtual machine when the virtual machine installs the target program (step 325) The processing module 250 can store the target program installed by the virtual machine into the original virtual disk file on the remote disk (step 326b), and can include the target program after the virtual machine completes the installation of the target program. An agent is created in the native virtual disk file (step 327b). In this way, the virtual machine processing module 250 creates a native virtual disk file containing the target program and the agent on the remote disk.

Then, returning to "FIG. 3A", the virtual machine processing module 250 of the host is set to establish a native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk of the setting host, that is, in the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 (step 320). After that, all the host terminals including the setting host can mount the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 to the remote disk on each host terminal through the storage area network (step 310). Wherein, since all the host terminals including the setting host can provide execution of the virtual machine, in the present invention, all the host terminals can be referred to as "service host".

In the present invention, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the host is configured to establish a native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk (step 320), and all the host terminals mount the storage server 100 through the storage area network. The steps of the storage medium 110 being the remote disk on each host end (step 310) are not sequential, that is, all the host terminals including the set host may first mount the storage server 100 through the storage area network. The storage medium 110 is a remote disk on each host (step 310), and then the virtual machine processing module 250 of the host is set to create a native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk (step 320).

In addition, in the present invention, since the steps performed by the respective service hosts (all the host terminals) are the same, in the following description, only one service host will be explained.

Mounting the storage medium of the storage server 100 through the storage area network at each host end The body 110 is a remote disk on each host end (step 310), and after the host is set up to create a native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk (step 320), the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host can The native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk is the base image, and a differential virtual disk file 231 is created in the local disk 230 of the service host (step 330).

In practice, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host can create a plurality of differential virtual disk files 231, each of which corresponds to a different virtual machine. In the present invention, since each virtual machine operates in the same manner, in the present embodiment, description will be made only for one virtual machine.

The virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host mirrors the native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk, and establishes the difference virtual disk file 231 in the local disk 230 of the service host (step 330). When the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host executes the virtual machine 251 corresponding to the difference virtual disk file 231 (step 352), if the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host has not executed the virtual disk file that is different from the created virtual disk file 231 corresponding virtual machine 251, as shown in the flow of "3D", the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host may first target the target virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk of the service host. The related data is written into the difference virtual disk file 231 (step 340). In this embodiment, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host can execute a utility such as a diskpart, mount the differential virtual disk file 231 as a disk drive of the service host, and mount the differential virtual disk on the service host. The disk machine generated by the file 231 writes the name of the virtual machine corresponding to the difference virtual disk file 231, the domain access authority of the operating system, the user authority of the remote desktop program, and the like, so as to be installed in the disk drive. The related data of the target program in the native virtual disk file 111 is written in the difference virtual disk file 231.

After the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host writes the related data into the difference virtual disk file (step 340), the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host can execute the difference virtual disk with the related data being written. The virtual machine 251 corresponding to the file 231 (step 352), after being executed by the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host, the virtual machine 251 can mount the corresponding differential virtual disk file 231 (step 356), thereby A disk drive is generated in the machine 251. Since the difference virtual disk file 231 is mirrored based on the native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk of the service host, the disk drive generated in the virtual machine will contain the native device. All the original data in the virtual disk file 111 and the difference data in the difference virtual disk file 231, wherein the difference data in the difference virtual disk file 231 covers the original data in the original virtual disk file 111 after the write operation. .

After the virtual machine 251 mounts the corresponding differential virtual disk file 231 (step 356), the virtual machine 251 can execute the agent in the native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk (step 361), for the virtual machine In the case of 251, that is, the agent included in the disk drive generated in the virtual machine 251 is executed.

After the agent is executed in the virtual machine, the initial environment of the virtual machine 251 and/or the target program may be set according to the related data stored in the difference virtual disk file 231 (step 363), so that the virtual machine 251 can operate smoothly, and The operating system and the application in the virtual machine-generated disk drive are normally executed, that is, the target program in the native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk is executed (step 370), so that the user of the virtual machine operates. Virtual machine. In the present invention, it is assumed that the agent sets the name of the virtual machine, the access authority of the domain in which the operating system is located, and the user rights of the remote desktop software in the operating system.

Continue to "3A", the virtual machine processing module 250 on the service host When the virtual machine 251 corresponding to the created difference virtual disk file 231 is executed (step 352), if the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host has executed the virtual machine 251 corresponding to the created difference virtual disk file 231. After the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host executes the virtual machine 251 (step 352), the virtual machine 251 can mount the corresponding differential virtual disk file 231 (step 356), so that the virtual machine 251 virtual magnetic according to the difference. The disk file 231 generates a disk drive. Next, the virtual machine 251 can execute the target program in the native virtual disk file 111 on the remote disk of the service host (step 370), for the virtual machine 251, that is, The operating system on the disk drive and the target program such as the application generated in the virtual machine 251 enable the virtual machine 251 to be powered on normally and provide the user to operate the virtual machine 251.

In the process of executing the target program by the virtual machine 251 (step 370), if the virtual machine 251 or the target program needs to read related data of the target program, such as the environment setting value in the record setting file, if the related data that has been read has not been After the write operation, that is, the related data is not stored in the difference virtual disk file 231, but the original data stored in the native virtual disk file 111, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host can pass through the service host. The initiating module 210 sends the related information to the storage server 100. For example, the initiating module 210 sends a download request of the related data to the storage server 100, so that the target module 130 of the storage server 100 is stored by the storage server 100 according to the download request. The relevant information is read out from the storage medium 110 and sent back to the service host, and if the related data read is subjected to a write operation, that is, the related data is the difference data stored in the difference virtual disk file 231, the service host The virtual machine processing module 250 can read the related data through the difference virtual disk file 231 (step 392).

Also in the process in which the virtual machine 251 executes the target program (step 370), When the target program needs to access the generated difference data on the disk drive generated in the virtual machine 251 during execution, in this embodiment, the virtual host of the service host is assumed to be generated when the target program generates the temporary storage data to be stored. The machine processing module 250 can store the temporary storage data (difference data) in the differential virtual disk file 231 corresponding to the virtual machine 251, or the virtual machine processing module 250 can be used when the target program needs to read the temporary storage data. The temporary virtual disk file 231 corresponding to the virtual machine 251 reads the temporary data required by the target program (step 396).

In this way, when one or more virtual machines in the service host are executed, if the target program executed in each virtual machine stores the difference data in the disk drive of each virtual machine, the virtual machine processing mode of the service host is made. The group 250 respectively writes the difference data generated by each target program into the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine executing each target program, that is, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host stores the difference data in the service host. In the local disk 230, when each virtual machine or each target program executed in each virtual machine needs to read related materials, if the related data exists in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine, the service host The virtual machine processing module 250 reads the relevant data that the target program needs to read from the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine, that is, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host is used by the local magnetic of the service host. The difference data is read in the disc 230, and if the related data does not exist in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine, The relevant information is stored as raw data in native file in the virtual disk, the host virtual machine processing service module 250 will download the raw data through the host initiates service module 210 to the storage server 100.

Similarly, when a user of a virtual machine installs a new application on a virtual machine, the new application is a difference, and the virtual machine will use the new application. Installed into the disk drive generated by mounting the differential virtual disk file, so that the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host writes the new application to the difference corresponding to the virtual machine stored in the local disk 230 of the service host. In the virtual disk file, and then when the new application is executed by the virtual machine, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host is stored in the virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine stored by the local disk 230 of the service host. Read the newly installed application. When the virtual machine executes the target program originally installed in the base image of the corresponding differential virtual disk file, the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host downloads the target through the initiating module 210 of the service host to the storage server 100. For example, the initiating module 210 issues a download request of the target program to the storage server 100, so that the target module 130 of the storage server 100 reads the target program from the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 according to the download request and returns the program. Give the service host.

In the above embodiment, if the service host further includes the host cache 270, when the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host downloads the target program or downloads the target program through the initiating module 210 of the service host to the storage server 100. In the case of the data, the initiating module 210 of the service host can determine whether the downloaded target program or related data is stored in the host cache 270 before the target program or related data downloaded by the server 100 is downloaded. 210 can directly read the downloaded target program or related data from the host cache 270, and provide the target program or related data read by the host cache 270 to the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host, and if not, The initiating module 210 will not store the target program or related data downloaded by the server 100.

If the local disk 230 of the service host and the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 are all block devices, the virtual machine reads as shown in the flow of "3E". When the target program or the target program reads the related data (original data) (step 371), the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host can download the target program or related data through the initiating module 210 of the service host, and the initiating module 210 can Determining whether the host cache or any storage block of the related data is stored in the host cache 270 (step 372), and if so, the initiating module 210 can read the storage block of the target program or related data from the host cache 270 (steps) 373), then, the initiating module 210 can transmit a download request of the storage block of the target program or related data not stored in the host cache 270 to the storage server 100, so that the download of the storage server 100 is not stored in the host. The storage block of the target program or related data in 270 is cached (step 375). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the target program or related data is distributed in two storage blocks. If the content of one of the storage blocks is stored in the host cache 270, the initiating module 210 determines the host cache 270. After storing a storage block, the initiating module 210 reads the storage block from the host cache 270 and transmits a download request of another storage block to the storage server 100 to download another storage block.

After the initiating module 210 receives the storage block of the target program or related data returned by the target module 130 of the server 100, the initiating module 210 can store the storage block received from the target module 130 to the host. The cache 270 (step 376), and the storage block read by the host cache 270 and the storage block received from the target module 130 are combined into a target program or related data (step 377), so that the virtual machine processing module Group 250 can provide the target program or related material to the virtual machine for execution (step 378).

In the above embodiment, if the storage server 100 further includes a server cache 150, when the virtual machine processing module 250 of the service host passes through the initiator module of the service host. When the storage server 100 downloads the target program or downloads the related data of the target program, the target module 130 of the storage server 100 can read the downloaded target program or related data in the storage medium 110 to the storage server 100. First, it is determined whether the downloaded target program or related data is stored in the server cache 150. If yes, the target module 130 can directly read the downloaded target program or related data from the server cache 150 and transmit the downloaded target program or related data to the service host. If not, the target module 130 reads the downloaded target program or related data into the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100.

If the local disk 230 of the service host and the storage medium 110 of the storage server 100 are all block devices, the target module 130 of the storage server 100 receives the service host as shown in the flow of "3F". After the download request of the target block or the storage block of the related data transmitted by the module 210 is initiated (step 381), it may be determined whether the stored cache target 150 stores any stored block of the downloaded target program or related data (steps). 382), if yes, the target module 130 can directly read the stored block of the downloaded target program or related data from the servo cache 150 (step 383), and store the storage block read by the servo cache 150. After being returned to the service host (step 386), the target module 130 can also read the storage block 110 to read the storage block of the target program or related data not stored in the servo cache 150, and read by the storage medium 110. The stored storage blocks are stored in the servo cache 150 (step 385), and the storage blocks read from the storage medium 110 are transferred back to the service host (step 386). In this embodiment, it is assumed that the target program or related data is distributed in two storage blocks. If the content of one of the storage blocks is stored in the server cache 150, the target module 130 determines the servo cache 150. After storing a storage block, the storage block is read out by the servo cache 150, and the storage block read by the servo cache 150 is transmitted to the service host, and the target module 130 also goes to the storage medium 110. The content of another storage block is read, and the storage block read out from the storage medium 110 is transferred to the service host.

In summary, it can be seen that the difference between the present invention and the prior art is that the host side establishes a native virtual disk file in the storage server through the storage area network, and mirrors the local disk based on the native virtual disk file. The difference virtual disk file is created. When the virtual machine on the host side mounts the difference virtual disk file, the virtual host executes the target program, and the service host reads the original data in the original virtual disk file through the storage area network. And the technical means for accessing the difference data generated by the target program in the difference virtual disk file of the local disk, by which a technical means can solve the problem that the base image and the differential disk set in the prior art are easily caused in the same device. The problem of low access performance, thereby achieving the technical effect of increasing the access performance of the storage server and increasing the number of virtual machines supported by the storage server.

Furthermore, the method for providing a read base image by the storage area network of the present invention can be implemented in hardware, software or a combination of hardware and software, or can be implemented in a centralized manner in a computer system or distributed by different components. Implemented in a decentralized manner with several interconnected computer systems.

While the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the above description is not intended to limit the scope of the invention. Any modification of the form and details of the practice of the present invention, which is a matter of ordinary skill in the art to which the present invention pertains, is a patent protection of the present invention. range. The scope of the invention is to be determined by the scope of the appended claims.

100‧‧‧Storage server

110‧‧‧Storage media

111‧‧‧Native virtual disk file

130‧‧‧Target Module

150‧‧‧Servo cache

200‧‧‧Host side

210‧‧‧Initiation module

230‧‧‧Local Disk

231‧‧‧Differential virtual disk file

250‧‧‧Virtual Machine Processing Module

251‧‧‧Virtual Machine

270‧‧‧Host cache

Step 310‧‧‧ The host side mounts the storage server as a remote disk through the storage area network

Step 320‧‧‧Set the host to create a native virtual disk file on the remote disk

Step 321a‧‧‧Set the host to generate a temporary virtual disk file on the local disk

Step 321b‧‧‧Set the host to generate the native virtual disk file on the local disk

Step 322‧‧‧Set the host to execute the virtual machine

Step 323a‧‧‧Virtual Machine Mount Temporary Virtual Disk File

Step 323b‧‧‧Virtual Machine Mounts Native Virtual Disk File

Step 325‧‧‧Virtual Machine Installation Target Program

Step 326a‧‧‧Set the host to store the target program to the temporary virtual disk file

Step 326b‧‧‧Set the host to store the target program to the original virtual disk file

Step 327a‧‧‧Set the host to create an agent in the temporary virtual disk file

Step 327b‧‧‧Set the host to create an agent in the native virtual disk file

Step 328‧‧‧The virtual machine ends execution or uninstalls the temporary virtual disk file

Step 329‧‧‧Set the host to copy the temporary virtual disk file to the remote disk for the native virtual disk file

Step 330‧‧‧ The service host mirrors the original virtual disk file and creates a differential virtual disk file in the local disk of the service host

Step 340‧‧‧ The service host writes the relevant data to the difference virtual disk file

Step 352‧‧‧ The service host executes the virtual machine corresponding to the differential virtual disk file

Step 356‧‧‧Virtual machine mounts the corresponding difference virtual disk file

Step 361‧‧‧Virtual Machine Executes the Agent in the Native Virtual Disk File

Step 363‧‧‧ The agent sets the initial environment of the virtual machine and/or target program based on the relevant data

Step 370‧‧‧ The virtual machine executes the target program in the native virtual disk file through the corresponding difference virtual disk file

Step 371‧‧‧Virtual machine read target program

Step 372‧‧‧ The service host determines whether the storage block of the target program is stored in the host cache

Step 373‧‧‧ The service host reads the storage block from the host cache

Step 375‧‧‧Service Host to Storage Server Download the storage block not stored in the host cache

Step 376‧‧‧ The service host stores the downloaded storage block to the host cache

Step 377‧‧‧ service host combination storage block is the target program

Step 378‧‧‧Virtual Machine Execution Target Program

Step 381‧‧‧ The storage server receives the download request corresponding to the storage block of the target program

Step 382‧‧‧ The storage server determines whether the storage block of the target program is stored in the server cache of the storage server

Step 383‧‧‧ Storage server reads the storage block from the servo cache

Step 384‧‧‧ The storage server reads the storage block from the storage medium

Step 385‧‧‧Save the server storage storage block to the servo cache

Step 386‧‧‧Save the server back to the storage block

Step 392‧‧‧ When the virtual machine reads the related data of the target program, the service host is read by the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine. data

Step 396‧‧‧ When the target program accesses the difference data generated, the service host accesses the difference data in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine

Figure 1 is a diagram of the present invention for providing a read base image in a storage area network. Schematic diagram of the server components.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a host-side component for providing a read base image in a storage area network according to the present invention.

FIG. 3A is a flow chart of a method for providing a read base image by a storage area network according to the present invention.

FIG. 3B is a flow chart of a detailed method for establishing a native virtual disk file according to the present invention.

FIG. 3C is a flow chart showing another detailed method for establishing a native virtual disk file according to the present invention.

Figure 3D is a flow chart of a detailed method for setting an initial environment according to the present invention.

FIG. 3E is a flow chart of a method for combining a host cache download target program according to the present invention.

FIG. 3F is a flow chart of a method for combining a servo cache read target program according to the present invention.

Step 310‧‧‧ The host side mounts the storage server as a remote disk through the storage area network

Step 320‧‧‧Set the host to create a native virtual disk file on the remote disk

Step 330‧‧‧ The service host mirrors the original virtual disk file and creates a differential virtual disk file in the local disk of the service host

Step 352‧‧‧ The service host executes the virtual machine corresponding to the differential virtual disk file

Step 356‧‧‧Virtual machine mounts the corresponding difference virtual disk file

Step 370‧‧‧ The virtual machine executes the target program in the native virtual disk file through the corresponding difference virtual disk file

Step 392‧‧‧ When the virtual machine reads the related data of the target program, the service host reads the related data from the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine.

Step 396‧‧‧ When the target program accesses the difference data generated, the service host accesses the difference data in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine

Claims (10)

A method for providing a read base image by using a storage area network, wherein at least one host computer executing the virtual machine reads a base image (Base Image) on a storage server, where the host end includes a setting host and at least a service host, the method includes at least the following steps: each host (host) mounts the storage server as a remote disk through a storage area network (SAN); A remote virtual disk (Parent Virtual Hard Disk, Parent VHD) file is created in the remote disk; each service host mirrors the original virtual disk file, and at least creates a local disk in each service host. a differential virtual disk (Different VHD) file; at least one of the service hosts performs a virtual machine (VM) corresponding to one of the different virtual disk files; the virtual machine mounts correspondingly a virtual disk file; the virtual machine executes one of the target files in the native virtual disk file through the corresponding difference virtual disk file; when the virtual machine reads one of the target programs Data, each service host reads the related data from a difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine; and when the target program accesses a difference data generated, each service host to the virtual machine The difference data is accessed in the corresponding difference virtual disk file. The reading base is provided by the storage area network as described in item 1 of the patent application scope. The method of mirroring, wherein the step of executing, by the virtual machine, the target program in the native virtual disk file through the corresponding difference virtual disk file further comprises the storage server determining to store at least one storage block of the target program (block The step of reading each of the storage blocks from the servo cache when stored in a servo cache of one of the storage servers. The method for reading a base image by using a storage area network as described in claim 1, wherein the virtual machine executes the target program in the native virtual disk file by using a corresponding differential virtual disk file. And each of the service hosts determines whether each storage block of the target program is stored in a host cache of each service host, and if so, each service host reads the storage blocks by the host cache, if No, each service host downloads the other storage blocks that are not stored in the host cache to the storage server, and stores the downloaded storage blocks into the host cache. The method for providing a read base image by using a storage area network according to the first aspect of the patent application, wherein the step of setting the host to create a native virtual disk file in the remote disk further includes the setting host Setting a temporary virtual disk file on the local disk of the host, and executing a virtual machine. When the virtual machine mounts the temporary virtual disk file, the virtual machine stores the target program to the target program. Copying the temporary virtual disk in the temporary virtual disk file and creating an agent in the temporary virtual disk file, and when the virtual machine finishes executing or unmounting the temporary virtual disk file The step of the remote disk being the native virtual disk file, or the setting host generates the native virtual disk file on the remote disk, and executing a virtual machine, when the virtual machine mounts the virtual disk After the disk file, the virtual machine When the target program is loaded, the target program is stored in the native virtual disk file, and a step of establishing an agent is provided in the native virtual disk file. The method for reading a base image by using a storage area network as described in claim 1, wherein the method performs at least one of the service hosts corresponding to one of the differential virtual disk files. Before the step of the virtual machine, the method further includes the step of writing, by the service host, the related data to the differential virtual disk file, and the method executes the native virtual disk on the virtual machine through the corresponding difference virtual disk file. Before the step of the target program in the file, the virtual machine further executes an agent in the native virtual disk file, so that the agent sets the virtual machine and/or the initial environment of the target program according to the related data. step. A server for providing a read base image by using a storage area network, which provides at least one host side read base image of a virtual machine, the server at least comprising: a storage medium for storing a native virtual disk file, The target virtual disk file includes a target program; and a target module is configured to provide the host device to mount the storage medium as a remote disk through the storage area network, so that the host device The native virtual disk file establishes at least one difference virtual disk file for the base image, and transmits the target program when the virtual machine executed by the host terminal executes the target program through the corresponding difference virtual disk file To the host side. The server of the storage area network provides a server for reading a basic image, as described in claim 6, wherein the server further includes a servo cache for storing at least one storage block including the target program. The target module transmits the When the target program is to the host, it is first determined whether the storage block is stored in the servo cache, and if so, the target module reads each of the storage blocks from the servo cache, and transmits each storage area. Block to the host side. A host computer that provides a read base image in a storage area network, the host end includes at least: an initiator to mount a storage server as a remote end through a storage area network a storage disk having a native virtual disk file, the native virtual disk file containing a target program and a program for downloading the target program, and a local disk for storing at least one difference virtual disk file Each of the differential virtual disks is created based on the native virtual disk file; and a virtual machine processing module is configured to execute a virtual machine corresponding to each of the different virtual disk files to make the virtual machine Executing the target program, and when the virtual machine reads the related material of the target program, the related data is read by the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine, and is generated by the target program storage. When one of the differences is the data, the difference data is stored in the difference virtual disk file corresponding to the virtual machine. The host side of the storage area network for reading the base image, wherein the host side further includes a host cache for storing at least one storage block of the target program, as described in claim 8 When the initiating module downloads the target program, it first determines whether the storage block is stored in the host cache, and if so, the initiating module reads each of the storage blocks from the host cache, and if not, The initiating module downloads other storage blocks that are not stored in the host cache, and stores the downloaded storage blocks into the host cache. For example, in the storage area network, the storage area network provides a host side for reading the base image, wherein the virtual machine processing module is further configured to generate a temporary virtual disk file on the local disk and execute The virtual machine, when the virtual machine mounts the temporary virtual disk file, when the target program is installed, the virtual machine processing module stores the target program into the temporary virtual disk file, and on the temporary virtual disk Establishing an agent in the file, when the virtual machine finishes executing or uninstalling the virtual disk file, the virtual machine processing module copies the temporary virtual disk file to the remote disk as the native virtual disk file, and Writing the relevant information into the differential virtual disk file, so that the virtual machine executes the agent program before executing the target program, so that the agent sets the virtual machine and/or the target program according to the related data. The initial environment, or the virtual machine processing module is further configured to generate the native virtual disk file on the remote disk, and execute the virtual machine, when the virtual machine mounts the virtual virtual After the virtual disk machine installs the target program, the virtual machine processing module stores the target program into the native virtual disk file, and creates the agent in the native virtual disk file, and the The related information is written into the difference virtual disk file, so that the virtual machine executes the agent program before executing the target program, so that the agent sets the virtual machine and/or the initial environment of the target program according to the related data. .